Critical properties of loop percolation models with optimization constraints

We study loop percolation models in two and in three space dimensions, in which configurations of occupied bonds are forced to form closed loop. We show that the uncorrelated occupation of elementary plaquettes of the square and the simple cubic lattice by elementary loops leads to a percolation transition that is in the same universality class as the conventional bond percolation. In contrast to this an optimization constraint for the loop configurations, which then have to minimize a particular generic energy function, leads to a percolation transition that constitutes a new universality class, for which we report the critical exponents. Implication for the physics of solid-on-solid and vortex glass models are discussed.